Pregnancy & Baby 

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Cramps - shake a Leg

Alternative therapist, Pat Thomas looks at ways to stop the cramps and jitters that can seize you up in pregnancy

You may not always be able to see your legs when you are pregnant, but they can certainly make their presence felt. As pregnancy progresses many women find that they suffer from either leg cramps or an uncomfortable jittery sensation running up and down the length of both legs. Sometimes these conditions are intermittent and are easy to cope with. But sometimes they can make the last few months of pregnancy tiring and uncomfortable, particularly if they wake you at night. While these two conditions produce very different symptoms, they share some common roots.

You can get muscle cramps almost anywhere in your body during pregnancy, but the most common site is your calves. Often these painful spasms seem to come out of nowhere and, although the spasms may only last a short time, they can be very severe.

Cramp can be the result of the extra weight you are carrying.

Stretching in bed in the morning and pointing your toes can also bring on quite severe, unexpected muscle spasms. No amount of dutiful rubbing by your partner seems to help. If this happens, try extending your heel to stretch the muscle and bring your toes towards you. This can bring a bit of quick relief.

No one knows for certain what causes leg cramps in pregnancy, though there are some intriguing theories:

• Deficiencies in salt, calcium, magnesium and vitamin C
• Changes in blood circulation. As your belly grows, more pressure is put on the pelvic floor, restricting circulation to your lower extremities. For some women the change may result in leg cramps, for others it may result in a greater tendency towards piles
• If you have a fairly sedentary lifestyle this can affect circulation as well.

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